


getting to like you

by nakaeshima



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Saimatsu Week, Saimatsu Week 2019, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-10 21:03:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20534564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakaeshima/pseuds/nakaeshima
Summary: Created for Saimatsu week 2019! The prompt? Modern/College AU! Future updates pending!Will probably change description and/or title later bc I wrote em when I was really tired ahaFirst Kaede meets Momota. Then they become friends. Then they introduce their own friends to one another. Turns out, some of said friends already know each other! And two of them in particular are really interested in getting to know the one person they don't know...





	getting to like you

“Hey, do you have a pencil I could borrow?”

Kaede turned to the boy sheepishly standing in front of her cafeteria table. She immediately recognized him from the History class they both attended currently, although she’d never learned his name. A few months ago at the start of the semester, she’d nearly balked at the sight of him— _he had the tallest head of hair she’d ever seen_. That, coupled with the unusual color of said hair and the elaborate space coat he always wore, made him a hard person to ignore. They’d never spoken, though… until now. 

“Of course! Just a moment.” Kaede reached into the backpack beside her and pulled out a pencil case, quickly plucking one at random and holding it out to him. “You can keep it.” 

“Really? Wow, thanks!” he grinned at her and made a move as if to turn away, but hesitated and gave her another look. “Yo, aren’t you in the same history class as me?”

“Mhm!” She held her hand out and smiled. “I’m Kaede Akamatsu.” 

He grinned back as they shook hands. “Kaito Momota. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Oh, go ahead!” Kaede gestured to the seat across from her in surprise. “Are you working on something from class?”

“Yeah,” he made a face as he sat down, already making himself comfortable. It seemed he was the type to be confident in his personality from the start. “It’s that letter we’re supposed to write. I’m not really great with that sort of thing.”

She nodded in understanding, closing the laptop in front of her. “Truthfully, I had no idea where to start. I mean, learning about a period of time is completely different from experiencing it for yourself.”

“Exactly!” he groaned. “I don’t have a time machine, so I don’t know what I’m gonna do to get through this assignment.”

“I’m afraid I resorted to old habits to get through mine,” she laughed, now sheepish herself. “I love music, and I know a lot about classical piano pieces. So I wrote to a composer who lived during that time and marveled over the pieces he was sharing with the world.”

“Really? That’s interesting…” he paused. “Maybe I could do that too?”

“Oh, are you interested in classical music?” Kaede sat up straight, excitement suddenly bubbling up in her chest. “Does that mean you play an instrument? I haven’t seen you in the music building before! Is it the piano? Please say it’s the piano!”

“Oh, n-no, sorry, that’s not what I meant.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I just thought I should maybe include my interests in my letter too?”

“Oh, right, of course!” Kaede leaned back into her seat, her face heating up. “Sorry, I’m just a bit of a Piano Freak. I get carried away kinda easily.”

“Nah, it’s fine!” he assured her. “I think it’s really cool that you’re passionate about what you do, actually.”

“Oh… thanks, then!” she didn’t feel as embarrassed thanks to his words, and she couldn’t help feeling grateful. “So, what’s the interest that’ll inspire your letter?”

“Space!” he says enthusiastically, and she remembers his coat. “Of course nobody was exploring the cosmos during that time, but that didn’t mean they weren’t curious about what was out there, y’know?”

“Yes, that could work!” Kaede tapped her finger on the table as she thought. “I don’t really know much about space either, especially the history behind it… Would you allow me to read what you write?”

“Dude, only if you let me read yours!” he shot back. “I probably won’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s good to explore new things, right?”

“Right!” Kaede noticed the time on her phone and hastily began shoving things into her bag. “I have to go, I have a private lesson. See you before class?”

“Yeah man, I’ll have some time to kill. See ya then!”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Kaede and Momota to become friends. They were both outgoing, talkative, passionate… and they even discovered they had a few mutual friends. It was because of this that around a month after she’d met Momota, Kaede had no hesitation in agreeing to a group hangout. Momota wanted to show his friends the planetarium he practically lived in. Although the science of space was a bit much for her, Kaede could of course appreciate the beauty of the night sky. Perhaps the trip would inspire her as a bonus?

She was meeting her best friend, Amami, and his boyfriend, Ouma, beforehand to get ready. Kaede was a bit hopeless with makeup, but Amami had no problem in helping her out… As long as they both kept an eye out for Ouma, should he decide to mess with her again.  _ One time  _ she’d been left alone with him for ten minutes, and by the time Amami returned her eyebrows had been dyed black.  _ That  _ took a while to undo. Although they both loved Ouma (in their own separate ways of course) they showed no hesitation in kicking him out of the sleepover that night. 

“I think you’re done,” Amami said, unintentionally interrupting her thoughts. “Should we get going?”

“Oh! Of course.” Kaede put on her favorite lip balm before twirling in front of her friend. “Wow, Amami-kun! You made me look  _ out of this world _ .”

He chuckled and ushered her out of the room as he called for his boyfriend. “We’re finished, Kokichi. Ready to go?”

“Hmmmm… no.” Ouma said, sighing dramatically from his spot on the floor. “I have very important business to attend to with DICE, you know. I might have to just miss the whole thing.”

Amami took this in stride as usual. “Oh, okay. I guess we’ll get going and leave you to it.” he made it four steps before Ouma sprung up, grabbing his hand. “Oh, that was a lie! I’ve been waiting  _ forever _ on you slowpokes, let’s get out of here already!”

Kaede and Amami shared an amused look before they followed Ouma out the door. 

* * *

Kaede spotted the group first and made a beeline for them. Momota and Maki were peering into the gift shop with another boy whom she assumed to be the best friend Momota had mentioned. All three had their backs to them, but Momota’s hair was a dead giveaway. Plus Maki’s long pigtails were hard to miss, too. 

“Hey, guys, we’re here!” She exclaimed, tugging her own friends over by the hands. The people they were meeting turned to face them, Momota jumping a bit in the process. She must have spooked him. 

Maki rolled her eyes. “Hey, Akamatsu. This idiot’s been cowering all day, so don’t mind him.”

“It was his fault!” Momota wailed, pointing at Ouma. “He sent me this maze game that turned out to be r-really scary!”

“Wow, you really opened that? In the year 2019??” Ouma started snickering into his sleeve. “You’re too easy.”

Momota looked like he was about to start swinging, but his friend placed a hand on his shoulder to placate him. “Now, now…” was all he said, but Momota simmered down all the same. 

Kaede looked at him curiously. She was sure she recognized him from somewhere, but where? At the same time she recognized him, she  _ saw  _ him for the first time. He had the prettiest face, delicate-looking fingers, and eyes that shone somehow, like they were two small ponds glimmering in the moonlight. The boy met her gaze and dropped his hand, looking away with a flush.

Huh. That was… interesting. 

“Oh yeah,” Momota said finally. “This is my friend Shuuichi Saihara. And uh, l know who you are Amami, cause of that freakin’ gremlin,” he narrowed his eyes at Ouma before glancing back at Amami. “Hearing that the  _ same person _ was Akamatsu’s best friend  _ and  _ Ouma’s boyfriend nearly put me in therapy.”

Amami laughed, good-natured and carefree as always. “They have that effect on people.”

“Hey!” Kaede lightly smacked Amami’s arm. “I get Ouma-kun, but why me?!”

“Oh, just learn to take a compliment, Piano Princess.” Ouma waved his hand impassively, ignoring her glare at the nickname. “Anyway, look forward to terrorizing you as always, Momota-chan!”

“Do you want to die?” Maki asked tonelessly. 

“Aaaaaand there it is! We should drink every time we hear that come out of her mouth, folks, it’d surely get us all killed. By alcohol or by Maki-chan, either punchline works.”

“You don’t have to sleep with him when he’s all keyed up about ghosts and shit.” Maki says flatly. “If he wakes me up one more time because of a scary face in the dark or something I’ll be taking my frustration out on you. And before you twist my words —  it will  _ not  _ be in a good way.”

“All  _ keyed up _ , huh? That sounds more like Akamatsu-chan to me!” he grinned, pointedly gesturing to Kaede.

Who was not paying attention. 

“Or not,” Ouma pouted. 

“Ah!” Kaede pressed her fist to her palm, staring right at Saihara. “Now I remember. You’re in Amami’s class, right?”

“Huh?” Like a deer in the headlights, Saihara’s eyes darted around while his body remained completely frozen. “Oh, uh, yeah, I am.”

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry, you probably think I’m some sort of creep!” Kaede began babbling nervously, a bad habit of hers. “I just remembered seeing you when I would walk Amami to class, you’re usually waiting in a corner before the classroom opens? But you usually have a hat on, and wow, that’s your face! Like, I kind of saw it before but not very well. But without the hat I can definitely see it? See you? So I was like, wow, that’s you!”

The boy— _Saihara_, Kaede reminded herself— cracked a bemused smile and scratched at his cheek. “Uh, yeah, that’s me. Or rather, this is me? I’m kind of shocked you noticed me at all.”

“Huh? Why?” Kaede asked, genuinely confused. 

Saihara opened and closed his mouth several times before saying, “It’s nothing.”

“So we all know each other, huh?” Momota interrupted, leaning into Saihara’s personal space. “My good ol’ friend Kaede is the same girl who walks the gremlin’s boyfriend to class, huh? That same girl my assistant practically swoons over despite not being brave enough to ask her name, huh? _That_ _girl_, huh?”

“Assistant?” Kaede asks, even more confused. Saihara elbows Momota when she isn’t looking.

“Oh, I have a feeling this is gonna be fun,” Ouma gleefully whispers to Amami, who just shakes his head fondly. He knows that look in Kaede’s eyes.

Now that the ball was rolling, there was no stopping whatever came next. 

**Author's Note:**

> there will be more coming! i just wanted to put. at least a chapter out on the actual day for saimatsu week  
also if anyone cares about elevation i am finally working on it once more so it may actually update relatively soon, mom holy fuck!!


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